


Orgel

by Mieldyne



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Discovery, Gen, Ghosts, Music boxes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-15 20:57:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16071209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mieldyne/pseuds/Mieldyne
Summary: She would have to turn it to get the sound she hopes to hear.So she does.And then the spirits go completely silent.





	Orgel

**Author's Note:**

  * For [raininshadows](https://archiveofourown.org/users/raininshadows/gifts).



****Aradia knows she’s not much of a musician herself, instead knowing that she adores it very much. It nearly rivals her love for history, adventures, and archaeology. She has found so many things while out walking in the footsteps of courageous Alternian adventurers who came before her. But the most she has found is when she dug deep into the earth, as it was much more convenient what with her Hive being close by as she does so.

Occasionally, her Lusus would help, or just oversee her progress and give her motherly bleat in approval whenever Aradia found anything. Usually, even after digging for hours on end, the young rustblooded Troll wouldn’t find much of anything. Save for some subterranean insects and wildlife who all quickly scuttle away from her after being discovered. Sometimes, she would just sleep outside, camping with her Lusus when she feels the most hopeful about making a discovery. Tonight was one of those times, as she had found a tiny piece of metal that looked like a tube of sorts. It’s color was dark bronze and rusting, but she is certain that with some care and elbow grease, Aradia would have herself a nice golden… key? A switch? Maybe just some piece of a tiny pipe? Something that obviously is part of a much bigger device, which is still in the loosened soil and waiting to be dug up.

Of course, all good digs needed to be done after having a good meal, and she had just what she needed to prepare something for herself and her bestial comrade. During this time, she could throw a few messages to her friends and answer others on the little computing device that she found with some ruins not too long ago. That meteor crash really fueled her adventurous spirit further, as without it, those strange ruins may never had been discovered underground. Aradia feels that she may never explore the whole thing anytime soon, since there seems to still be parts of it underground. But that’s neither here or there, as she has to put her archaeology skills to good use once again and find the rest of the pieces of whatever this thing belongs to.

After giving her Lusus a quick brush - after being so nicely “asked” her cute little slightly-bruising-yet-light headbutting way - the little rustblood gathers her shovel and hops on over to where she found the small tube.

 

\+    +    +

 

The spirits are in a particular foul mood tonight, but Jegus only knows that the determined digger will not allow them to stop her. They can throw a tantrum all they want, but Aradia is going to move this dirt. She’s going deeper even if it takes her all night again, and she’d be forced to retreat to her tent or even her hive for the day. Despite the spirits yelling at her about nonsense she couldn’t give a damn about at the moment, trying to intercept her in subtle ways by “misplacing” some things she needs somewhere else, launching them high into the air and outside the dig site, or just not responding when she tries to use her fetch modus. No matter, everything that is truly needed is already in her hands or nearby and easily snapped up if she needs to.

Or better yet, maybe she can just use her hands and claw through the dark soil like some animal. Whatever it takes to reach her goal, and she can just feel it. It’s right… here!

Or rather, over there now, as once her shovel strikes the metallic object in the loose dirt, a chunk of it flies off and lands at her feet. Ah, oops. Well, if she had known it was going to be now, of all times, that she would strike lucky. Maybe she wouldn’t be looking at an even more damaged… thing. It’s a thing, yes. One that makes a pleasant sound once she (carefully!) grasps with all five fingers of her free hand, her Lusus noticing that her near-crazed dirt flinging had stopped.

It’s beautiful, whatever it is. Even if it’s in pieces, as it seemed to be even before she struck it, it still appealed to her. The pleasant sound came from some parts to it that were meant to rotate and strike something else as it passed by the perforated cylinder. The little tinkling sounds made her believe that it was meant to play music, with how a nice tune was made as she manually turns the cylinder. Soon she is joined by her goat-like Lusus and receives a nuzzle that Aradia took as a “Good Job, Daughter” nuzzle, and reciprocates it eagerly.

This is it. Exactly what she needed to see, and she is… just going to carry it to her Hive and not give the irate spirits any reason to ruin her achievement. The pieces all have to be gathered up and slung over her Lusus’ stronger back as well as herself, once the beast kneels. Together, they climb back up to the hive as quickly as the rustblooded beast will allow. A great, big smile remains on Aradia’s face the entire time, looking over the dirt covered object in her bag and… realize that the first thing is a bath.

… And only after that, is the best part. Studying her findings!

 

\+    +    +

 

She doesn’t even open up her computer at all for the rest of the night, what with being so preoccupied with the pieces of the little device. She hasn’t truly tinkered with it just yet, as she had thought of cleaning it. After realizing that the possibility of it working again would be greater, if she does.

That process took quite a long time picking and scratching, rubbing and gently rinsing away the dirt. Any insects making the device its home are removed (and promptly giving them as treats to her custodian) and since she just happens to have it, some polish to the outside of it.

It’s still worn from the long time it probably was in there, buried so deep and forgotten. Aradia’s brightened eyes glance over her work, which is the best that it may ever get until it’s fixed. Just lightly flicking her thumbs over the parts intended to make music was so pleasing to her ears, no matter if she couldn’t exactly make a tune of her own. The sleeping animal curled up near her desk only twitched her ears, remaining where she is at. The sound doesn’t bother her at all, which is great news to Aradia, since the girl had been thumbing along the tiny comb-like piece for a while.

As she was tuning them out for a while now, Aradia noticed that the more she played with the device - the music box, more like - the spirits of the dead seemed to have quieted down. It’s as if that they, too, have found the object as fascinating and calming as she does. It makes her smile, as talking with them really shouldn’t have been so bad, usually. She had learned a way to not just listen to them but somehow communicate with them in return.

It motivates her, as she gives the snowy white animal next to her a gentle rub behind her ear and around her horns, to tinker with the music box further. Aradia wishes to see this out, as there doesn’t seem to be too much damage to it, even if she might have knocked pieces loose when uncovering it. What matters is that it works well enough that she can get it to play the music it was intended to.

… Just after a quick snack. Really, all that hard work and she didn’t even take a proper break? She has plenty of time left, hopefully. If not, then she could just stay up. Not really hard to do when ghosts are either whispering or yelling in her ears. But that’s okay, she’s gotten used to that, and the voices. And the staying up. It’s all good.

 

\+    +    +

 

So it’s a bit later than Aradia would have predicted for such a small project. Still ignoring her computer and having to let out and feed her Lusus as well during that time, she manages to put the thing together. To be honest, she was lucky the ancient thing was mostly intact. Maybe this object was placed there in such a way that it wouldn’t be disturbed much? Maybe someone wanted her to find it, maybe the ghosts? But then, if they did, then why did they choose tonight of all nights to interfere and be nuisances?

Ah well, the thing is as fixed as it’ll ever be. The tiny tube-like object Aradian finds was the end of a crank. And the crank is manual, so she would have to turn it to get the sound she hopes to hear.

So she does.

And then the spirits go completely silent.

The tiny, generated sound coming from the music box, as the rustblood turns it, began filling the air in her hive. It’s haunting melody doesn’t carry far, but she could tell that her Lusus can hear it, as the beast paces slowly back towards one of the windows to listen further.

The moment is moving, could even bring a tear to one’s eye. But for Aradia, it brought her a warm smile. It’s soothing, bringing the spirits to a true calm that she hasn’t witnessed from them since… ever, actually. They probably were never this calm ever, not even in the six sweeps she had walked this planet so far. She continues to turn the handle more and more, even when the tune had played fully. She wants to hear it again, and so does the dead around her, and even her Lusus, who has joined her. This definitely is the great find, and something that she feels is probably the best discovery that she’s made as of late, if not ever.

The young troll will cherish this, and maybe learn to make more cylinders with different series of notes to work with the ancient music box? Kept with her always to play whenever she wants to feel soaring right into that state of serenity that she believes the voices needed just as much as she does.

The cylinder continues to turn and casts its lullaby of the dead, and Aradia continues to close her eyes and smile along with her ghostly companions.


End file.
